In the icy wilderness of Alaska, a young moose found itself in an unlikely predicament all too familiar to many of its wildlife brethren – trapped and in dire need of rescue. Luckily for this lost calf, help arrived in the form of two gallant police officers and a compassionate outdoorsman named Spencer Warren.
Warren, a dedicated employee of Destination Alaska Adventure Co., was on his routine 6:30 a.m shift prepping a floatplane for takeoff at Beluga Lake in Homer when his ears picked up an unusual sound. Expecting a bird’s call on this quaint morning, he instead found a moose calf hopelessly wedged between the plane’s floats, that act as water-borne stabilisers, and the dock. Homer, a community amidst the picturesque Kenai Peninsula, stands as a nature’s sanctuary approximately 220 miles south of Anchorage.
Alarmed at the sight, Warren’s immediate concern trailed to locate the calf’s distraught mother. His fears weren’t unfounded. Mother moose are known for their fierce protective nature. Very recently, a similar scenario had led to a photographer’s tragic incident while he was photographing a moose and her calf in Homer.
Unlike the smooth ice fields it’s used to, the slick metal floatplane proved an “ice rink” for the terrified calf’s hooves. The sight of the calf’s futile struggle to escape was enough to ignite a sense of urgency in Warren, without being too intrusive as to agitate its protective mother.
With a quick dialogue with his boss and a swift call to the Homer Police, bystander turned rescuer – Warren started an operation to extract the calf. During the rescue, one officer boldly maneuvered his cruiser between the concerned mother moose and the floatplane. This maneuver provided a necessary distraction that allowed another officer and Warren to perform the rescue.
The distressed calf continued to grapple with the slippery metallic surface. With one leg sprawled atop the floatplane, it was unable to free itself from the narrow gap. However, Warren pointed out that it thankfully didn’t overly exert itself, which ironically facilitated the rescue. With gentle care, they lifted the stilled calf out of the lake and onto the dock.
Worn and waterlogged, the calf splayed out on the dock and an officer assisted it to a wobbly stand. Soon after, the calf was finally reunited with its anxious mother who quickly began to lick the water from its soaked coat. The heartwarming scene of reunion and maternal love was captured by Warren, a testament to the remarkable rescue.
Drawing a close to the emotional encounter, Homer Police Lt. Ryan Browning remarked, “Anytime you can rescue a little critter, it always makes you feel good,” An echo of satisfaction was evidently clear on every face involved in this successful mission of rescuing one of Alaska’s beloved native creatures.
